A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas by Maisey Yates

Author:Maisey Yates
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: 2018-08-07T15:43:33+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

GRANT SAT DOWN on the curb, somewhat gratified by the discomfort he felt when the concrete bit into his ass, and the cold bled through his jeans, threatening to freeze his balls right the hell off.

He rested his forearms on his knees and settled in as the mayor welcomed everybody to the parade and kicked off the festivities with “The Star-Spangled Banner” sung by the elementary school choir. For that, Grant stood and put his hat over his heart. But then he sat back down, welcoming that pain in his butt again, because it served as a reminder of the fact that his current situation was exactly that.

The parade began with the fire department, and all the little kids around him went slack-jawed over the vision of the giant red truck wrapped in tinsel. Not that he could blame them. He remembered that. When simple wonder had been only a giant backhoe or a fire truck away.

He hadn’t particularly enjoyed being a child. After all, it hadn’t been the happiest time at his house.

But there was something about that wonder you felt when you were a kid that he envied sometimes.

He thought back to McKenna. To the first time he’d seen her naked.

Okay. Maybe it wasn’t a fire truck that made him go slack-jawed anymore. A pair of nice breasts sure did it, though.

Breasts he no longer had access to, so there was no point in thinking about them. And if he hadn’t been reasonably certain they were done before, he was sure now. Things had gotten real. She had seen exactly what his life was like here. And she knew. Well, not everything. But either way, she had crossed out of the realm of fantasy and straight into the real hell that was his life.

The parade had moved on, a cavalcade of classic cars driving slowly down the main road, and he knew that bagpipes weren’t far behind, because even though they weren’t in view he could already hear them.

Right then, a boot touched his hand. He looked down at the familiar, ratty brown shoes. And then, a moment later, McKenna sat next to him. “Wyatt and Lindy came back,” she said, her fingers curling around the curb.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. So they sent me off to enjoy the parade. I figured I would find you.”

“Why exactly?”

She lifted a shoulder. “Just because.”

“Because you feel sorry for me?”

“Maybe,” she said, edging closer, the worn toe of her boot touching up against his. “Can you honestly tell me that you’ve helped me without feeling sorry for me at all?”

“We’ve talked about this,” he said. “I don’t feel particularly sorry for you. I’m sorry that you’ve had it rough, but people have had it harder.”

“You, you mean,” she said.

“My wife.”

He wished that he hadn’t said it quite like that. Because her face went slightly ashen, and her lips were tight. “I’m sure,” she said. “I’m just... Pity isn’t a bad thing, Grant. Pity is the one thing that has gotten me this far in life.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.